From what I've seen, the energy industries appear to be at a tipping point in their interest and adoption of advanced analytics. If there's any question about how analytics can be used to benefit these industries, consider a few examples:. How much demand for electricity will there be and when?
Welcome to another installment of my blog series Data Preparation and Data Quality on the Road. The main actors here are my two SAS books Data Preparation for Analytics Using SAS (DP) and Data Quality for Analytics Using SAS (DQ), who are allowed to accompany me to many conferences, SAS
As you've probably guessed, I'm a "visual" person - I like to see things (in a chart/graph/map) rather than just reading about them (in a data table and summary statistic). Don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of statistics and analytics -- but I'm an even bigger fan of
If you have been reading the articles in this blog, you already know that the Graph Template Language (GTL) forms the underlying foundation for all graphs produced automatically from SAS analytical procedures and custom graphs created with the SG Procedures and the ODS Graphics Designer. SG procedures and Designer provide
Data cardinality is an important topic for for data analysis. In mathematical terms, cardinality is simply the number of elements in a set. But in data applications, cardinality signifies the number of unique values for a given field of data. Related terms include number of levels (thank you, PROC FREQ
On Kaiser Fung's Junk Charts blog, he showed a bar chart that was "published by Teach for America, touting its diversity." Kaiser objected to the chart because the bar lengths did not accurately depict the proportions of the Teach for America corps members. The chart bothers me for another reason:
The demand for SAS Certifications has never been bigger. The number of SAS Certifications awarded has doubled over the last three years and in August the program had its biggest month ever with 1,195 certifications awarded. Here’s another impressive stat. More than 59,000 SAS Certifications have been awarded since the
The Inside SAS Global Forum video series has been officially launched for 2014. Yes, the conference is still several months away, but it is not too soon to plan! Your first item of business: submit your proposal for content. Then next: register for the conference. Anna Brown and I provide
The National Academy of Engineering identified fourteen "Grand Challenges for Engineering" that must be addressed in order to achieve a sustainable, economically robust, and politically stable future. (see the full list here) The challenges are a call-to-action for solutions to some of the most pressing issues in the 21st century:
Look anywhere within the software industry, and you’ll see agile under construction. You’ve read about how it’s helping teams streamline large projects into smaller ones that are easier to manage and deliver. Being swift and agile has long been one of our company values here at SAS, and executing with
Should you ever guess on the SAT® or PSAT standardized tests? My son is getting ready to take the preliminary SAT (PSAT), which is a practice test for the SAT. A teacher gave his class this advice regarding guessing: For a multiple-choice questions, if you can eliminate one or two
My aunt Susanne is an elderly lady, who lives at the countryside and looks forward to celebrating her 80th birthday soon. Since the 1960's she has had a telephone connection with her fixed line provider. At that time, and for many years later, in the country where my aunt lives,
I have a challenge for you - guess which of these three email offers below are what I consider "sloppy marketing." Base your decision on these demographics- the recipient is a 50-year old married male with two kids at home, has stable employment, is a homeowner with a good credit rating, active
In this quarter's installment of the SAS/Foresight Webinar Series, Steve Morlidge will discuss his promising new approach to evaluating the "Avoidability of Forecast Error." Based on his article in the Summer 2013 issue of Foresight, and examined in a four-part series on The BFD blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part
With Data Stewards Day fast approaching I started to reminisce about the many data stewards I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past. What struck me was just how many people take on the role of data steward - but under the guise of conventional roles. For example,
This week's SAS tip is from Michael Tuchman and his innovative book PROC DOCUMENT by Example Using SAS. Michael's book fills an important gap. For instance, in her review of the book, SAS user and senior statistical analyst Wendi Wright said: "Currently, I believe PROC DOCUMENT is a highly underused procedure and after reading
Last week, we introduced you to Jason Dorsey, the Gen Y Guy. This week, we've asked him to share some advice about managing and marketing to Generation Y. And we also discuss this generation's relationship to data. Check out his answers to our questions below. (And remember, Gen Y and Millennials
Want to know the secrets to landing a job as an analytics professional? I went straight to the source – the expert speakers of Analytics 2013 to find out. Here’s some of their advice… What advice would you give students considering a job in analytics and those already in the
In my last blog post I described how to implement a "runs test" in the SAS/IML language. The runs test determines whether a sequence of two values (for example, heads and tails) is likely to have been generated by random chance. This article describes two applications of the runs test.
I first spoke with Jill Dyché in March about her "Big data in big companies" research with Tom Davenport. They had interviewed a handful of organizations, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank and UnitedHealthcare. They ended up speaking with executives from more than 20 companies about their big data
Is big data becoming too big to ignore? An increasing number of organizations seem to think so. As Matt Asay on ReadWriteWeb writes: According to a recent Gartner report, 64% of enterprises surveyed indicate that they're deploying or planning Big Data projects (emphasis mine). Yet even more acknowledge that they
Mark Kindem can thank his parents and brother for getting him started on the road to being a statistician. “My dad was a baseball card guy,” Kindem said. “I used to pore through data as a kid.” Kindem and his brother would line up baseball or basketball cards on the living
While walking in the woods, a statistician named Goldilocks wanders into a cottage and discovers three bears. The bears, being hungry, threaten to eat the young lady, but Goldilocks begs them to give her a chance to win her freedom. The bears agree. While Mama Bear and Papa Bear block
SAS and Publications are always committed to providing you with the highest quality products and services. Since this is Customer Service Week, we want to check in with you to see how we are doing. We’d love to hear from you. And here are some ways you can offer your feedback
Traditionally, SAS users like their processes to behave like Ron Popeil's famous rotisserie: they want to set it and forget it. That's the definition of a batch process. You work like heck to get it ready to run, then you push the button (or schedule it) and walk away. But
I recently had the pleasure of moderating a panel focusing on the top of Marketing Operations, which included Kim Collins of Gartner, Cedrick Shelly of State Farm Insurance, and Stephan Nobs of SAS. This panel was extremely timely as we move into the coming year and hear so much about the topic of marketing
Following SAS' Sanjay Matange's lead, I have recently set up a graphical (thumbnail-driven) index to my SAS/GRAPH blogs. Hopefully this will provide an easy way for you to quickly peruse my past blogs, and find the ones you might be interested in. So far, I've got 44 of my blogs
What is the best way to share SAS/IML functions with your colleagues? Give them the source code? Create a function library that they can use? This article describes three techniques that make your SAS/IML functions accessible to others. As background, remember that you can define new functions and subroutines in
Who doesn't love a side-by-side taste test? You get to choose for yourself - awesome! For me, the ultimate taste test is the Pepsi Challenge (Pepsi Cola vs. Coca-Cola), a key feature of the "Cola Wars" since 1975. It's very simple and very effective - even for the audience. So for
It’s very telling that every Walmart greeter has an inviting phrase emblazoned across the back: “How may I help you?” That simple question and the presence of the greeters in the stores speaks eloquently to the customer-centricity of Walmart, which has been instilled in their organizational culture from the very
